


A light in the dark led me to you.

by DoesEulerDreamofComplexSheep



Series: Of Gingers and Giants [1]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Non-Canon Relationship, Pitch Perfect Fandom Drive, Post PP3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:48:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24830323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoesEulerDreamofComplexSheep/pseuds/DoesEulerDreamofComplexSheep
Summary: Thanks to an anonymous donor who supported the Pitch Perfect Fandom Drive, and offered the prompt of Chloe/Emily. Thank you for your donation, and I hope you enjoy the fic!As always, I do not own any part of this IP, and all work (and inevitable mistakes) are mine.
Relationships: Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale/Emily Junk
Series: Of Gingers and Giants [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1822036
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33





	A light in the dark led me to you.

**Author's Note:**

> I ended up deciding to take out a section that I might add as a chapter later, but I wanted to mention - Yoru's full name is Yoru Denki, which Em chose because it's Japanese for Nightlight, and was the closest she could find to flash light. I wanted to mention that since the title kind of makes no sense without it!

Chloe closed the exam room door behind her and quickly crossed the hall to the door to their office. She had just finished with an adorable but very corpulent French Bulldog who was sadly being overfed to an alarming rate, and she was only so hopeful that her warnings would be taken seriously by the owner. She stepped into the small room and handed the clipboard with her notes and treatment information to Emilio, the receptionist sitting at the desk. 

"Here you go Emilio, that's the chart for room 9. Please make sure you remind Mrs. Milaseczyk to schedule a follow up. I told her, but I think her memory is going." Emilio nodded, his tightly curled hairs bouncing slightly with the motion. Chloe turned away from him and began washing her hands in the sink.

"Room 4 is ready whenever you can. Really cute dog." Chloe looked over her shoulder with a laugh, her brilliant red ponytail swishing audibly over the fabric of her scrubs.

"And an even cuter owner." He continued, his voice teasing. 

Chloe rolled her eyes. She had been working at the practice for about three and a half months now, having more or less taken over for a friend, and the staff seemed to have made it their mission to set her up with someone. She had already been bribed, guilt-tripped, or literally tricked into 5 blind dates, most of which had been utter disasters. 

"That's nice Emilio, but not really diagnostically relevant."

He chuckled in response, tapping the new clipboard against his thigh while he waited for her to finish drying her hands. 

"Diagnostically, no. Relevant, absolutely. She seemed nice; you should get her number instead of just pining in your apartment by yourself!"

She frowned deeply, sticking her hand out to take the chart, but Emilio jerked it away at the last second, inching it out of reach. She sighed, irritated.

"I am not _pining_ , thank you. I'm perfectly happy on my own for your information."

She reached further and pulled the clipboard out of his hand, her body language not the least bit subtle that she was done with the conversation, but it did nothing to dissuade Emilio from plastering an unconvinced smirk on his face. She huffed and swept back out of the room, turning crisply toward the exam room. She flipped over the pages on the board, reading as she walked; just a routine checkup. She leaned into the tech's station and asked them to prepare the regular shots that she was going to need to update and opened the exam room door. She walked in, her eyes still on the chart.

"Good afternoon miss" her voice stopped suddenly as she read the owner's name and looked up, her mouth wide in surprise. 

"Junk." Finished the owner in a genuine, cheery voice that Chloe hadn't heard in years. The woman was younger than Chloe, though not by much, and she hadn't seen Chloe yet because her attention was on the restless looking Shiba Inu sitting on the chair beside her.

"Emily?!" Chloe gasped, still shocked. The other woman's head jerked up when she heard her name, her look of confusion instantly morphing into elated surprise.

"Chloe, is that you?!" Emily was instantly on her feet, and both girls rushed towards each other. Emily stopped just short of the shorter woman, seeming unsure, but Chloe swept her into her arms in a warm embrace. Emily broke into a wide grin then returned the hug, eliciting a surprised squeak as she lifted Chloe off her toes before letting her back down. Chloe giggled, a little embarrassed at her sudden outburst and the two backed away to look one another over. Emily's hair was a little shorter than the last time Chloe had seen her, and Emily seemed to hold herself more confidently, very different from the baby-giraffe Emily that Chloe remembered captaining. Chloe couldn't help but admit that she could understand Emilio’s compliment, Emily was stunning. 

"Oh my stars," Emily began, her words spilling out in the nervous rush Chloe remembered, "it's been so long. You look great!" 

Chloe smiled at the compliment. 

"So do you! You're rocking that suit!" Chloe tugged on the sleeve of Emily's pant suit for emphasis.

Emily smiled again bashfully, and her eyes darted to the floor for an instant even as her cheeks colored. Maybe not so different, Chloe thought. The younger girl cleared her throat as she noticed Chloe's attention.

"Umm, I didn't know you worked here, are you one of the techs?" Emily asked finally, filling the silence. Chloe shook her head simply, carefully setting the chart on the stainless-steel counter.

"Actually, I'm the head veterinarian." Emily's head tipped slightly to the side.

"Did something happen to Dr. Kennedy?" Emily said, her voice alarmed. Chloe's eyes went wide as she realized her mistake.

"Oh, no, sorry! Dr. Kennedy is fine, Em, she's out on maternity leave. She had approached me when she found out she was expecting and asked if I would be willing to run the practice while she was out, so..." Chloe gestured around her with both hands and Emily nodded her understanding, her body relaxing.

A soft whine rose from the floor and both women looked down to see a rather indignant dog looking up at them. Chloe giggled at him and his ears cocked forward quizzically. He regarded Chloe for a moment, tipping his head to the side before looking back to Emily, again letting out a low whine. She crouched down and rubbed the dog's head, lightly running her nails through the fur behind his ears.

"Oh, I'm sorry Yoru, did we forget you?" she asked in an exaggerated tone. Chloe snorted despite herself and brought herself lower to make the dog more comfortable, resting on her heels. She tentatively put her hand out with her palm down, careful not to reach into the dog's personal space, and held it there so he could investigate her.

The dog ducked his head low for a moment then brought it back up, carefully inching forward, his nose twitching with each swift sniff. After a moment he must have decided that Chloe smelled trustworthy, and he gave her outstretched fingers a few accepting licks. Chloe smiled, bringing her other hand slowly around so as not to startle Yoru and gently rubbed his shoulder, the red fur parting under her fingers. He sat down on his haunches, his eyes squinting happily at the touch. Emily watched, a pleased look of surprise on her face.

"Wow," she said softly, "he didn't warm up to Dr. Kennedy nearly that quickly." Chloe's eyes met Emily's and she gave a little shrug.

"Oh, I doubt that, he's such a sweetie."

"No, he peed on Dr. Kennedy the first time they met. Just lifted his leg up and peed all over her leg." Emily replied, shaking her head at the memory, still mortified all this time later. Chloe laughed.

"It comes with the territory, I'm sure it wasn't that big a deal. Alright big man, let's get you on the table and get you checked out." Emily smiled at Chloe, scooping up Yoru in her arms as she rose to her feet, and settling him down on the exam table. 

* * *

Emily watched Chloe writing notes on Yoru's paperwork, even as he lay curled up on the floor, his chin draped over her feet, the picture of lackadaisical. He had been relatively behaved through the exam which was a relief for Emily. He was an amazing dog, but he usually let his nerves get the better of him when they had to come to the vet, and even a routine exam like this was an exercise in exhaustion trying to wrangle the energetic little scoundrel. Chloe had had none of those problems.

Yoru had been getting impatient and bored right until the vet had walked in, then it was like someone had flipped a switch, almost like her presence itself had calmed Yoru down. Then again, Chloe had always calmed Emily down too when they were in school. Well, except for the time where she thought her captain would kick her out of the group for messing up a riff-off, but competition Chloe was always a little scary. The woman sitting next to her now couldn't be more different, even if she was just as beautiful as Emily had remembered.

"Well," Chloe said, pulling her out of her thoughts, "he's in great health. He's got a little plaque on his teeth, but otherwise he's as fit as they come."

Chloe looked up from the chart, resting her hand on her pen, and she caught Emily's eyes.

"Do you do anything for his dental health?"

Emily stood up a little, not really expecting the question, but recovered.

"Uhh, yeah, I give those little green bones to him. Like, two or three a week. The person at the pet store said they helped clean his teeth." Chloe shook her head, and let out an exasperated sigh, and Emily felt her stomach start to tighten.

"Let me guess," she said, turning to face Emily. "were they at one of those big-box pet stores?"

Emily nodded, feeling the creeping edge of panic edging around her chest. She tried to take a deep breath and let it out slowly. 

"Those treats are actually bad for his teeth. Most of them are made with wheat flour and plant fibers, they make plaque worse for dogs instead of better."

Emily felt sick, she loved Yoru and she couldn't believe she had been giving him something that was making his teeth worse. Suddenly Chloe leaned forward and rested her hand on Emily's knee, and the simple contact froze Emily, and completely drew her out of her spiraling thoughts.

"Don't worry, you didn't know any better and I would guess it never came up with Dr. Kennedy. His plaque isn't too bad, I'd just suggest proper dental care going forward."

Emily nodded, still upset with herself for not being more diligent, but reassured by Chloe's words.

"Uh, OK, what should I be doing?" Chloe flashed another disarming smile and sat back upright on her stool.

"There's several good options. We can schedule him for a debridement here, and then you could brush his teeth once a week to take care of any buildup before it's a problem. Some dogs enjoy it, but..." Chloe hesitated, glancing at Yoru who was now sound asleep, his chest rising and falling in slow, steady swells. Emily raised her eyebrows, prompting Chloe to continue.

"Some dogs are tougher to convince. I prefer raw bones honestly."

"Raw?" Emily replied, a note of skepticism threading through her voice, and she watched Chloe nod confidently.

"Yep." she assured, popping her p. "The bones are strong enough to scrape away all of the plaque, but they won't damage the teeth of a healthy dog, and because a dog's saliva is designed to break down the proteins in meat, it doesn't contribute any build up on his teeth like those other treats or dry food do. As a bonus I've yet to meet a dog who didn't love digging into a bone."

Emily's eyes were wide; she'd never heard this.

"They're raw though, right? Won't they get him sick." At this Chloe shook her head.

"No, dogs are meant to eat raw food. It's actually a lot better for them, dry food was invented as a convenience product for people, not to be healthy for dogs, so raw food is totally fine. You'll want to clean up really well; you could still get sick from any bacteria, but he'll be fine."

Chloe opened the drawer of the desk and pulled out a folded pamphlet and scribbled something on the front before handing it to Emily. She took it and scanned over the cover and Chloe's note. It was a brochure talking about feeding raw food and treats, and Chloe had written an address in her neat, curly script, a tiny bubble dotting the lone letter i.

"That's a small pet shop not too far away. They're super knowledgeable there and love animals. They'll even let Yoru shop with you as long as he can be friendly to other dogs. I know the bones they stock, and I trust them."

"Alright, thanks so much." Emily said as she looked up, catching Chloe's brilliant blue eyes as she spoke. She puffed her cheeks as she sighed, trying to take in all the information. 

"Well, I think that's everything. Do you have any questions?" Emily answered no and Chloe nodded, standing.

"Alright, well you're all set then. Yoru's a great dog, and I can see his mom is taking great care of him. Emily felt her cheeks flush again, but she forced a smile on her face despite how conscious she felt with Chloe's eyes on her. The vet stood and Emily followed suit, not quite sure if she should shake Chloe's hand or hug her. The answer came as the redhead once again wrapped her arms around Emily.

"Thanks so much for taking care of my little guy Chloe." she said as they parted, smiling genuinely. "It was great to see you again!"

Chloe nodded her agreement and the two stood for a moment. Emily watched the other woman's eyes looking at her, almost like she was trying to decide something, but the moment passed, and Chloe smiled one last time before she turned and slipped out of the exam room. Emily looked down at Yoru who was stretching, obviously having been risen by their moving. His jaw stretched in a wide yawn, his tongue uncurling like a fat, pink carpet. Emily giggled at the puppy who looked up at her expectantly.

"Alright cutie, let's go get you some bones!"

* * *

Chloe strode quickly towards the front waiting room, hoping that the time she had wasted agonizing over her decision to leave without talking any more to Emily hadn't cost her the chance to reconnect with her friend. She came around the desk and her face fell; Emily wasn't finishing any paperwork; she must have just left. Emilio caught her eye from the other side of the desk and one lone eyebrow screwed up in his confusion of seeing Chloe out front. 

Just as Chloe was about to return to her office in defeat, she heard the door chime and Chloe caught a flash of blue and white plaid swish through the outside door, the same plaid as Emily's suit. Chloe sprinted out the door just in time to see Emily reach the curb, about to step into the crosswalk with Yoru obediently walking by her side on his lead.

"Emily!" she shouted, ignoring the looks of disdain from the pedestrians around her. Emily spun around, trying to find who had called before she caught Chloe's eyes, her surprise registering on her face.

"Hey, Chloe, did we forget something?" 

"No," she answered, shaking her head, "I just was wondering if you wanted to hang out and catch up some more some time. It was nice bumping into you, and I thought it might be fun to, y'know, get some drinks or something."

Emily's face lit up and the anxiety that had been squeezing Chloe's heart eased a bit.

"Oh my Gosh, I'd love that! When were you thinking?"

"Whenever you're free really. I've been so busy with the clinic that my nights are totally free right now."

Yoru yipped and jumped against Emily's leg, his paws dragging against the fabric of her pants. Emily laughed and shook her head.

"Umm, well would you like to get together tonight? I promised to get bones for someone, but we could meet up later?" Chloe clapped her hands excitedly and nodded.

"Awes! I'm closing up the clinic tonight, but we're going to be done at 5. Do you know Finnerty's in Woodlawn?"

Emily agreed enthusiastically.

"I love Finnerty's, their corn beef wrap things are amazing!" The woman was shaking in excitement and Chloe couldn't help but giggle at her, causing Emily to blush as she realized where she was.

"Well let's meet there. Say 7?"

Emily's eyes pointed upward, and she gnawed her lower lip as she thought about it.

"Yeah, that ought to be enough time! Awesome, it's a date!" she exclaimed, a wide smile dominating her face, then she realized what she had said, and her face blanched save for a radiant swath of red on each cheek.

"Not like, a date date. I mean, not that I wouldn't go on a date with you, I just meant you weren't asking me on a date. Anyone would go on a date with you, you're gorgeous. Oh my God, I'm sorry, I just- UGH!"

Chloe tried to suppress her smile and laughter as she realized that when Emily got nervous her mouth still ran like a broken tap. Failing to keep a straight face she covered her mouth a little, hoping not to make her friend any more conscious. Chloe couldn't help but notice how adorable Emily was when she got like that.

"Em, breathe, it's OK. I didn't take any offense to what you said, and I'm excited to hang out tonight too."

Emily huffed a relieved smile and quickly recovered, admittedly still looking nervous. Yoru was looking between the two women and barked loudly. Emily looked down; her expression guilty.

"Right, sorry Yoru! We'll go get you bones!" The ginger dog launched himself onto his rear legs and barked several times. Chloe and Emily traded looks and both burst into laughter.

"Well, I can see who's the boss." Chloe joked, looking at Yoru fondly. Emily nodded.

"All right, tonight! Finnerty's!" Emily called, and with a last wave she turned and started walking uptown towards the shop Chloe had suggested. Chloe smiled to herself, then turned around and headed back in, knowing full well that Emilio would never let this drop.

* * *

**Six Weeks Later ******

********

********

Emily sat at her desk, her elbows propped on her desk and her head resting on her outstretched fingertips as she poured over her presentation notes. She heard the soft hiss of her office door opening on its well lubricated hinges and she glanced up with her eyes to catch the eyes of Hillary, the department secretary.

"I know you're busy Ms. Junk, but Bill asked me to remind you that he needed you to review the candidates for the adjunct position that was approved for next semester."

Emily stared blankly at Hillary, whose usually severe features were instead apologetic.

"Bill said he had that covered when the department voluntold me about this seminar." Emily said not a little sarcastically, gesturing to the stack of notes in front of her. Hillary nodded sympathetically, holding her arms out in a gesture of defeat.

"I know, but he, uh, had a commitment today."

Emily groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Did his commitment have a tee time?" she asked, already knowing the answer. She waved her hand, Hillary taking her hint that her question had been of the rhetorical variety.

"Whatever, did he give you the resumes?” Emily asked, pointing to the chair next to the door when Hillary held up the stack of papers she had brought in with her.

”Good, can you leave it on the chair?"

Hillary simply nodded and lay the stack on the chair. Emily sighed as the door clicked in its latch. Her phone pinged beside her and she smiled thinly, picking it up even though she knew checking her texts was the last thing she had time for. Her smile deepened as the screen lit up and she saw Chloe's name. She unlocked the device and scanned over the message, the feeling of stress and irritation that had defined her morning lifting fractionally.

Chloe and she had hung out several times a week for the past month and a half since she had reconnected at Yoru's appointment, and it was such a wonderful change having a friend in the city again; one who wasn't a colleague anyway. The past few weeks she'd been spending almost every day either going out with Chloe or just watching Netflix at one another's apartments over dinner. Their text messages filled the times where they each were apart working, the in jokes and shared silly thoughts wiling away the hours. 

**Cap'n Chlo** : _morning emmy! just had the cutest frenchy bully ever. omg, totes wanted to steal him!_  
**Cap'n Chlo** : _ne way, how are you? ready 4 that big speech?_

Emily giggled picturing Chloe with a tiny french bulldog, trying to tuck the smushed up little face into her purse and sneaking out of the clinic.

**xoxoJunk in tha Trunk!!!** : _I think? Today is just awful, I'm trying to get ready for this seminar, and now my boss is making me do something he had promised to do, and I haven't even had anything to eat today! I just want it to be Friday!_

Emily noticed a flashing ellipsis at the bottom of the screen, which then disappeared, then reappeared. This repeated for a few seconds before she gave up and put the phone back down. She pushed herself back from her desk and rose from her chair, quickly walking to the chair by her door and scooping up the pile of resumes and letters. A defeated sigh fell from her lips and she stalked out the door, desperate for a cup of coffee to keep her going. The break room was mercifully empty, and she set the papers on one of the gray tables so she could pour herself some coffee. The pot was empty, which was typical for both the way her day was going and how inconsiderate the other teachers were. She dumped a packet of grounds into a fresh filter and filled the carafe from the top, setting the machine up to brew a fresh pot, then sitting down in front of the papers.

She started flipping through the first candidate, deciding to just read through the papers in here rather than walking back to her office just to return in ten minutes for her coffee. The soft gurgle of the water bubbling through the coffee grounds blended in with the steady hum of the refrigerator, and Emily quickly lost herself to her task. She had a few hours before her seminar started, and she was sure she could get the first half of the candidates sorted into a yes and no piles to bring up for discussion at next week's department meeting.

After making some progress on the applicants and finding the bottom of her second mug of coffee Chloe glanced at her watch. She still had some time and decided that it was a good time to get back to her office to get her notes for the seminar. She neatly piled the yes applicants and dropped the remainders in the shred bin before hustling to her office. Hillary caught her eye and gestured toward her office door with her head. Emily looked, confused, and a wide grin broke out across her face when she saw Chloe sitting quietly in the chair in her office, scrolling through something on her phone.

"Chloe! What are you doing here?!" Emily exclaimed, her pace quickening. Her voice caught Chloe's attention and she looked up, her radiant smile lighting up the room. She pocketed her phone and stood up, wrapping her arms around Emily in a hug as the brunette stepped through her office door.

"Well, you sounded like you weren't going to have time to get something to eat before your big thing, so..." Chloe trailed off and held up a small brown paper bag, the top neatly folded over in a tight roll. Emily accepted the proffered package, setting the papers she had been holding in the chair that Chloe had risen from. She unfolded the bag and squealed excitedly as she saw two trays of unagi rolls, which Emily could tell were from her favorite sushi restaurant from the branding on the chopsticks.

"Oh my God, Chloe, you didn't have to do that! Thank you so much."

Chloe giggled and ran her hand up and down Emily's arm. Emily's cheeks colored slightly, but she had been getting used to Chloe's touchy nature again, and she didn't shy away from the feel of the older woman's touch. Instead she smiled warmly and started pulling out the contents of the bag.

"I hope you plan to share this with me, because there's way too much here for me!" Emily said with a laugh as she realized there had been even more sushi underneath. Chloe simply nodded with a chuckle, planting a soft kiss on Emily's cheek as she picked up a packet of chopsticks from the desk and sat down to eat. 

After, Chloe had had to leave amidst a swath of apologies that she couldn't stay to watch Emily speak. The professor had simply waved her hand, and reassured Chloe that it would probably have been boring to watch anyway. The seminar had gone really well, Emily thought, and she had gotten a chance to invite some of the visiting professors from UCLA's music program to answer questions with her at the end, which had been terrific fun. She turned the key to her office door as she returned to collect her laptop and jacket for the weekend, spotting Hillary as she walked in.

"Have a nice weekend Hillary!" she called across the darkened hall, causing Hillary to look up.  
"Thanks," the older woman answered, "say hello to your girlfriend for me."

Emily's eyebrows bunched in confusion.

"Girlfriend?" she asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, the redhead. I tell you; I wish my husband was half as sweet as her, bringing you lunch because you were stuck. You guys make a cute couple."

"Oh, thanks, but..." Emily paused, thinking back over lunch. She cleared her throat. "Thanks, but we're actually just friends."

Hillary hummed, then smiled.

"Are you sure that she knows?"

Emily used her free hand to pull her hair back from her face, unsure of what to say. Finally, Hillary gave a shrug and waved as she turned to head down the hall towards the elevator.

"Have a good weekend Emily."

Emily nodded, not paying attention to the fact that Hillary couldn't see her.

"Yeah, you too." she muttered, her mind completely awash as she thought back over the thoughts and feelings that she had been struggling with for the past six weeks in a very different way. She gathered her things distractedly even as her fingers met her face, tracing over where Chloe's lips had been a few hours earlier.

* * *

Chloe sighed and undid another button on her black wool coat as she hurried down 59th street from Lexington station. Despite being nearly December, the weather had gone warm again, almost like a flip of a switch from the day before, and her clothing choice was punishing her for not having looked at the forecast. Ignoring how uncomfortably warm she was getting, she hurried, aware that she was probably teetering on the edge of late, and while she didn't really know what Emily had planned when she suggested they meet on 2nd Avenue up at East 59th, she had asked Chloe not to be late. Normally making decent time from work to midtown was easy, but today everything seemed to be going against her.

She hustled across 3rd, aware that she was about to lose the light but didn't see anyone coming down the street. A few minutes later she crossed 2nd and spotted Emily, the leggy woman standing above the crowd. Chloe waved, hoping to get her attention, and the other woman grinned as their eyes met. Chloe wove her way through the crowd and quickly wrapped her arms around Emily, not caring that she was adding Emily's body heat to her own.

It had been a few days since she had dropped sushi off for a spontaneous lunch at Emily's college, and Chloe missed her. If she was being honest, she always missed Emily, and even when they were together she wished for more - but she was nervous of telling Emily and finding that the young woman didn't feel the same only to have Chloe's attraction ruin their friendship. After a long couple of years where Chloe had felt isolated from all the people she cared about she didn't know that she would find a way to get through losing Emily too. 

The brunette pulled away after a moment, not impatiently, but so they could look at one another and Chloe noticed something different in her eyes. Emily seemed to be looking at her as if she hadn't seen her in an age, studying Chloe's features - committing them to memory. Chloe dismissed the thought and forced her eyes away from her friend, looking around.

"Sorry I'm a little late, did I make it in time?"

Emily looked at her, bemused, and shook her head.

"You're fine Chlo, I don't know why I told you not to be late, the tram runs, like, every ten or fifteen minutes."

"Tram?" Chloe asked, knowing that she was barely containing the excitement in her voice, but not wanting to steal the surprise from Emily. The younger woman simply giggled, and Chloe guessed she had easily surmised that Chloe knew what the plan was now.

"To Roosevelt Island," Emily said, with a soft smile, "you said you'd never been there, right?"

Chloe nodded, her face gleaming in elation. and she lunged in for another, tighter hug. She ended up knocking the air out of the tall brunette with a loud whoof, but she felt two long arms wrap around her despite it. Chloe looked up above them, tracing the cables towards the Queensboro bridge and could make out the red shape of the tram, although she couldn't tell if it was heading away from them or towards.

"Well let's head up." Chloe's head bobbed eagerly, and they started walking toward the raised platform. As they reached the top of the stairs they settled onto the bench opposite the platform for the tram. As she looked up Chloe could clearly tell that the tram was closer now.

"I can't believe you remembered this; this is gonna be so much fun!" Chloe gushed. Emily shrugged, her hands unusually still in her lap.

"Well you had said that it was the one thing you hadn't gotten to do since you came to New York." Emily offered. 

She looked back at Chloe, and once again the redhead couldn't shake the feeling like something was different. Emily seemed more nervous than she could remember. Looking back up she saw that the tram was now pulling into the platform, and she jumped to her feet. It silently slid to a stop and the doors opened, spilling the passengers onto the platform. Emily stood up, grinning at Chloe's infectious enthusiasm, and they both watched as the people inside filtered out. 

Chloe counted thirteen passengers - well, thirteen and a half if she included the baby stroller that had come out last, the exasperated mother tipping it on its rear wheels to gently lower it down the concrete steps to 2nd Avenue. Unbidden the image of Emily trading places, pushing a little stroller with brilliant blue eyes peeking out from a curtain of espresso colored hair filled her mind, and she physically shook her head to clear the picture from her mind before she looked back at Emily, afraid that she'd have a lovesick look on her face. When she did turn around, she saw that Emily had stepped on to the tram and was talking to the young man sitting at the controls with a casual familiarity.

He was younger than them both, and for a split moment Chloe felt a cold hand squeezing her heart as she wondered if maybe this was someone Emily had been seeing and never mentioned. The tension in her chest was balanced brutally by a flash of hot jealousy that coiled in her stomach, and all she wanted to do was get Emily away from whoever the guy was. The moment flowed over Chloe and she instantly policed herself, realizing how ridiculous all those thoughts were, and that Emily deserved more than some possessive jealous anger, but the feeling was stubborn in being shooed away, and Chloe could feel a sour taste resting on the back of her tongue that it left behind. She stepped onto the tram and heard Emily asking the man - honestly, more like a kid - about his sister.

"Oh, she's doing great, thanks for asking! She's about to get back to work next month, although I don't know if she's excited or scared about it." he said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, twins! I can't even imagine!" Emily said with a laugh, and she turned to face Chloe. The redhead forced a cordial smile on her face, even though she was sure it didn't reach her eyes, and she could have sworn she caught a smirk on Emily's face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Chlo! This is Michael Garcia; he was one of my students last year! His songs were really great!"

The young Michael blushed and hid his face, and Chloe softened, instantly seeing why Chloe might have connected with the boy.

"Michael helped me out with the surprise tonight." Emily continued, and Chloe faced the operator with a raised eyebrow. Instead of answering he swiftly ran his hands over the console built into the side of the tram and the door hissed closed. Before Chloe could ask her question, Emily placed her hand on Chloe's arm.

"I remembered Michael worked the tram, and he agreed to let us have a private trip over to Roosevelt Island." 

Almost as if to punctuate Emily's sentence Chloe felt a subtle tremble through the soles of her shoes and she watched the railing outside the door inch it's way along the window as they began to creep away from the elevated station. Chloe looked back at Emily, shocked, but the other woman just smiled placidly and tugged her arm towards the windows facing the bridge. They walked over, stopping short of the window, and Chloe found herself unexpectedly speechless. They stood in silence as the tram gracefully rose away from the bustling traffic of East 59th toward the grand, stone parapets of the Queensboro Bridge.

"I have a question." Emily said, her voice lowered to afford them some privacy. Chloe looked into her rich brown eyes, still not trusting herself to find words. Emily seemed to take the cue anyway and after biting her lip for a few indecisive moments she continued.

"Umm, I've really had a lot of fun hanging out so much since September."

Chloe's head rocked in agreement, and she let her heart feel a shimmer of hope. Emily seemed stalled and after a few seconds Chloe took pity on her.

"Me too Em, although that wasn't a question."

Emily rolled her eyes at Chloe's playful correction, and she cleared her throat, seeming to gather herself.

"Heh, yeah, no, you're right. Uh," she paused again, a nervous giggle tumbling from her lips. "My, uh- my question is-"

Emily stopped again, and Chloe was almost stunned by the intensity of the other girl's stare.

"Chlo, have these been dates?"

Chloe bit the inside of her cheek, and demanded her face not betray how her heart was keeping into her mouth and demanding she sing a rejoice.

"Do you want them to have been?" Chloe asked calmly. Emily's eyes darted to the floor but rebounded back up. 

"I, uh-" Chloe watched her swallow, and it killed her waiting, but she needed to hear the words from Emily so badly, to know that she felt the same way.

"Oh God, that was stupid. This is stupid, I'm..." Emily jerked back, stammering, and Chloe's eyes flashed with panic as she watched Emily turn away. 

"I'm sorry Chloe, I just - Hillary thought. And it made me realize. I thought maybe. Oh God, I'm sorry Chloe, I understand if you don't want to talk anymore." 

Chloe reached out, desperate to reassure Emily, and caught her shoulder. She pulled Emily to face her, tears forming in the corners of her eyes at the heartbreak and panic in the brunette's eyes. She lifted her hand and gently caressed Emily's cheek, and it felt like electricity was racing from her fingertips along her limbs and into her chest. 

"Em, honey, I wanted them to be. I did. I just..." Chloe's voice faltered as the waves of guilt and fear from the past few weeks crashed over her like a breaker rolling in against the shore.

"I just didn't know if you did."

Chloe traced the outline of Emily's cheekbone with her thumb and felt the stranglehold on her chest start to loosen as Emily heard her words and her face softened. 

"You did?" Emily choked out; her voice watery from the promise of tears. Chloe nodded, her smile threatening to swallow her entire head if it grew at all.

"I did. I was glad to hang out as friends, but the more time I spent with you the more I-" Chloe swallowed the knot in her throat, unable to say any more.

"So are we..." Emily trailed off, her voice withering into the space between them, and Chloe waited for her to fill it again.

"Dating?" She finally finished.

"I'd really like that." Chloe said, a single tear overcoming her resolve. She felt it roll down her cheek, the hot wake behind turning cold from the puff of breeze sneaking through the vented windows. 

Chloe watched the flood of relief spread from Emily's eyes into the smile that grew on her lips, and the taller woman let out a breath she had been holding in a relieved sigh. Chloe's eyes lingered on Emily's lips, and when she caught Emily's eyes she watched as they darted back and forth from Chloe's own lips and her eyes. She stifled a giggle at how indescribably adorable Emily was in that moment.

"I want to kiss you. Is that OK?" Emily whispered, and it was only when she felt Emily's breath on her cheek that Chleo realized how close they had drifted. 

Not wanting to break her own spell with words Chloe craned her neck closer, pausing only when her lips hovered millimeters above Emily's, but she waited, wanting to let her make the final choice. Without hesitation Emily met her, and Chloe's eyes fluttered shut as the moment she had been imagining for weeks overcame her. 

Emily's kiss was nothing like what Chloe had envisioned, but somehow was the perfect blend of all the sweetness and care that she had begun to fall in love within Emily. She felt fingertips tracing the shell of her ear even as Emily's strong hand slipped farther back to cradle her neck. Chloe couldn't resist the urge to tilt her head, deepening their kiss, and God knows she had no desire to hold back. 

A hunger grew in the way that Emily's lips worked against hers and Chloe was unashamed to let her tongue be the first one to gently seek entrance to Emily's mouth, which was allowed with no resistance. Emily's lips crushed against her, and she felt the tip of Emily's tongue gently toy with hers. Finally, after what felt like all the time Chloe had ever known and barely a heartbeat at the same time she had to break away, her breath literally stolen from her. Emily's eyes darted around her face, unsure, and Chloe smiled as she moved back in for another, gentler kiss. She intended to pick up where the need for air had left them, but suddenly the sound of a throat clearing behind them snapped Chloe out of her haze. 

Both girls spun their heads toward the sound to see an intensely uncomfortable looking Michael, studiously examining every inch of the ceiling by the sliding tram door. Emily's face instantly turned a bright scarlet even as Chloe broke into a fit of giggles. Emily glared at her but immediately softened, and soon they both were in stitches, Chloe's arm draped around Emily's shoulder as the taller woman rested her face in the crook of Chloe's neck. Chloe felt a few gentle pecks at the sensitive skin as the hot breath of Emily's laughs settled. 

"Sorry Michael." Emily squeaked, and he offered her a good-natured nod of his head, glad to see that Emily and Chloe were no longer locking lips. Chloe let her fingers run down Emily's arm, finally threading into Emily's and giving her hand a light squeeze. Emily grinned, and brought Chloe's hand to her lips for a chaste kiss, and they both turned back to the window, the towers of the bridge lit a brilliant golden glow in the light of the setting sun, as Roosevelt Island grew larger in front of them.


End file.
